So the first day of racing at the URGE Products Valloire round of the Enduro World Series is over, and what a day it has been! New racers have moved into the top spots and the day has been dictated by mechanicals and punctures. With incredible 15 minute plus stages, riders spat out of the end of stage 3 looking like they had been to war! This was certainly one of the most physical and toughest rounds on the calendar so far! Sweat and dust smeared their faces, as racers crowded to see if they had done enough! Here is some of the days action!
With the media in force, the tough rocky start to stage one was lined with cameras, shutters clattering as riders rolled through for a sighting lap. The rules are clear, no stopping on the practice run! With just one sighting lap, racers were left with a difficult choice, cruise through and look at lines or try and build in some speed. Watching from the sidelines it was clear that most had opted for the later, it was impressive to see how fast these riders could hit trails blind. That is not to say there was not a few fully pinned ‘holy sh@t’ moments, but everyone was on it!
It’s a great format and really brings fairness to an international race, but perhaps only lends itself well to lift assisted riding, as without lifts it would be too much climbing in one day if practice were linked to racing. With towering snow capped peaks dominating the horizon it was a perfect day for racing, the trails were dry and the smashed up dust was whisked away by the cool breeze. This would be alpine racing at its finest. However, with just 15 seconds between riders (20 for the top 10’s) overtaking was going to be a problem for some, especially the ladies as there was such a wide spread of ability.
Results
Results are still being collected, but the day would see some new names threaten the podium, BMC rider Francoise Bailly Maitre put down some really fast times to take 1st position after stages 1 and 2, but his hopes would be dashed when his chain got wrapped around his crank arm on stage 3 and blew any chances of a win. With such demanding stages, bike problems were inevitable, and Martin Maes also came off unlucky in the lottery, after holding 3rd overall after the first two stages he ripped his tyre from the rim on stage 3! Polygon rider Jamie Nicol suffered a huge crash onto the rocks on stage 3 after losing it in the snow, and took a big chunk out of his side, it did not slow him down too much though, Kiwis are made out of tough stuff! Yeti racer Jared Graves also took a massive OTB coming out of the snow field on Stage 2 which put him back in 3rd overall at the end of the day, not where he would have liked to finish today!
So today it was the big Kiwi, Justin Leov, who has done enough to take 1st place going into day 2. With a massively fast last stage he looks determined to win this event!. He is joined by his Trek Factory Enduro teammate Rene Widhaber in 2nd. The remaining top ten sees Frenchmen Damien Oton in 4th and Cedric Gracia in 5th. American Curtis Keene has found his form to take 7th despite a puncture.
Tracy Moseley was dominant in all all three stages today! On the final stage, Anne Caro-Chausson finished 2nd just 20 seconds behind and Anneke Beerten had done enough to secure 3rd going into day two.
Full results will be updated as soon as they are available, riders are still on the hill! we will bring you all the news tomorrow of the final day of racing! It is sure to be awesome!
Words and photos: Trev Worsey
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